Pigskin and Politics Redux

I'm still basking in the after glow of the New Orleans Saints win over the Baltimore in the Super Bowl of all Super Bowls. Who would have thought the Ain'ts would win the Super Bowl? I mean really? As a Saints fan from way back in the days of paper bags and losing seasons, my heart is full today.

The Saints win is proof that anything is possible. That hard work and perseverance pays off in the end. That nothing beats a lose but a try. That courage and faith can overcome any obstacle. The democratic party should take heed and learn the lessons of the world champion New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans Saints History and American African American History
In honor of Black History Month The African American Experience in Professional Football is a must read for football fans and history buffs.

The New Orleans Saints franchise was the result of a back room deal.

The brainchild of local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who also founded the Louisiana Super Dome and USFL, the Saints were actually secretly born in a backroom deal brought about by Congressman Hale Boggs and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. The NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL-NFL merger.[4] Dixon and a local civic group had been seeking a NFL franchise for over 5 years, and had hosted record crowds to NFL exhibition games.

Read about the behind the scene deal making HERE

The Saints were the offspring of Congressional approval of the National Football League-American Football League merger in 1966. And it was Boggs, the House majority whip at the time, who guided passage of a law that granted the leagues the limited immunity from antitrust laws that they needed to merge.

The AFL (American Football League) was more liberal than the NFL(National Football League).

Early on, the American Football League began recruiting from small colleges, which the NFL had avoided. Drawing on this source of talent that had been essentially untapped by the NFL, in the AFL's first year its teams signed such stars as Elbert Dubenion (Bluffton), Lionel Taylor (New Mexico Highlands), and Abner Haynes (North Texas State). For black players, the AFL's recruitment from small colleges opened a door that the NFL had cracked only grudgingly. On a per-team basis, the AFL had a significantly greater number of black players than the NFL, which had still not fully overcome the exclusion of blacks precipitated by the entry into the league of openly bigoted Redskins owner George Preston Marshall. Accordingly, the American Football League hired many more black college talent scouts, including the Houston Oilers' Tom Williams and The Kansas City Chiefs' Lloyd C.A. Wells, pro football's first black full-time scout, who was credited with signing AFL Hall of Famers Otis Taylor and Buck Buchanan as well as a half-dozen other Chiefs who achieved AFL All-Star status.

Minority players in the NFL have increased since the early days and Recent surveys have shown that the current, post-merger NFL is approximately 57–61% non-white (this includes African Americans, Polynesians, non-white Hispanics, Asians, and people that are mixed race.) The NFL made history in 2007 when two teams coached by African American Head coaches were in the Super Bowl,e number of minority head coaches in the NFL is still lacking according to this report.

Ironically, former Baltimore Colts coach Tony Dungee was the first African American NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl and the Baltimore Colts have some Bama ties. Baltimore Colts Corner Back Jerraud Powers is a native of Decatur, Alabama and a former Auburn Tiger. Defensive End Robert Mathis is former Alabama A&M Bulldog.

Who Dat? We Dat!!!

Peace Out.

Redeye's Sunday Afternoon Blog Stroll

I sure do miss the good old days when the Superbowl was about football and not advertising. I mean, really. All this talk about Tebow and the religious right is making me sick. But the hypocrisy of CBS is what really blows my mind. Remember when CBS refused to air Moveon.orgs anti war ad on the grounds they didn't air issue ads? That was the same year Janet Jacksons' wardrobe malfunctioned during the half time show. Speaking of the half time show, I sure do miss the good old days when the half time show was about marching bands. *Sigh*

Okay, I'll admit I'm still giddy over the Thrilla in Baltimore( President Obama at the gop retreat) and I promise not to post about it anymore after today. Not. Jack and Jill Politics. com commenter Craig Hickman breaks it on down (warning mature language) and so does the field negro.

Memo to the GOP: Most A-merry-cans- unlike moi-are looking for bi-partisanship. That face-off with O did not look like the republicans are looking for it as well. It looked like more of the same: Block; block; block; and oppose everything at every turn.

Notice how the MSM tells us President Obama is making budget cuts but they don't bother to tell us what those cuts are exactly? Well the White House has released the details. They look like sound economics to me, look them over and decide for yourself.

Here's a blast from the past for your reading pleasure and review. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards in order to move forward. This is what pResident George W. Bush said
about health care reform during his 2006 SOTU address.

Our government has a responsibility to help provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility.

(APPLAUSE)

For all Americans -- for all Americans -- we must confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, and help people afford the insurance coverage they need.

We will make wider use of electronic records and other health information technology to help control costs and reduce dangerous medical errors.

We will strengthen health savings accounts, making sure individuals and small-business employees can buy insurance with the same advantages that people working for big businesses now get.

(APPLAUSE)

We will do more to make this coverage portable, so workers can switch jobs without having to worry about losing their health insurance.

So what happened? Nada.

Remember how Cindy Sheehan was arrested before the SOTU for wearing a t-shirt?

This afternoon at the People's State of the Union Address in DC where I was joined by Congress persons Lynn Woolsey and John Conyers, Ann Wright, Malik Rahim and John Cavanagh, Lynn brought me a ticket to the State of the Union Address. At that time, I was wearing the shirt that said: 2245 Dead. How many more?

After the PSOTU press conference, I was having second thoughts about going to the SOTU at the Capitol. I didn't feel comfortable going. I knew George Bush would say things that would hurt me and anger me and I knew that I couldn't disrupt the address because Lynn had given me the ticket and I didn't want to be disruptive out of respect for her. I, in fact, had given the ticket to John Bruhns who is in Iraq Veterans Against the War. However, Lynn's office had already called the media and everyone knew I was going to be there so I sucked it up and went.

God Bless America.

Peace Out.